SDMIMD conducted the event Startup Charcha on February 9th, 2017. This event is a culmination of various entrepreneurship activities undertaken by the members of Swayam – Ecell at SDMIMD. It is also an event that is in line with the current surge in interest on startups and the conducive policy environment for the same. SDMIMD has initiated entrepreneurship activities to give conceptual insights to PGDM students on Entrepreneurship.Members of Swayam – E cell at SDMIMD have undertaken many activities in the last four years. An elective on Entrepreneurship has also been part of the PGDM program at SDMIMD.

The Startup Charcha event held for the second years in succession had Mr Aroon Raman, Managing Director, Telos Investments and Technologies (also the author of best-selling books(include the name of the book -“The shadow throne” and “Treasure of Kafur”)) delivering the Key Note address. The theme of the address was Starting and Building a Great Company. Startup Charcha event this year also had a Panel Discussion on the theme Strengthening the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem and Implications for Management Education, moderated by Dr M R Suresh, Professor and Faculty Coordinator of E Cell at SDMIMD. The Distinguished Panelists were Mr Vijay Mane, Founder- www.aftershoot.in, Mr Deepak Nesarikar, Social Entrepreneur and Co-founder- EcoNest projects, Mr Digvijay Bhatkande, Social Entrepreneur and Co-founder-EcoNest projects, Mr Sukumar Rangachari, Director- Pointcross. In addition, there was a brief talk on Tech startups by Prof Rajendra Todalbagi, SDMIMD.

In his Keynote address Mr Aroon Raman highlighted the importance of Product, Quality, Cost, Delivery and Service around which startups could build their strategies and gain competitive advantage in the market. He cited his own experience of excelling in business which had multinationals as competitors. He also highlighted the importance of identifying dimensions that do not change. Underlining the relevance of listening to suggestions, he said that it could come from any quarters. He stressed the importance of taking a long term view of business and ethical dimensions while being pragmatic. In another brief talk Prof Rajendra Todalbagi highlighted the case the of a tech startup in the education sector and indicated as to how students from smaller cities could become successful tech entrepreneurs.

In the Panel discussion moderated by Dr M R Suresh, Professor, SDMIMD, many aspects of entrepreneurship and overcoming initial difficulties of startups were discussed. The distinguished panellists highlighted the enabling role of the government and the importance of structure to implement policies. The panel members also highlighted the positive features of the Startup policies by the government and stated that the “reduction in procedural bottlenecks and the financial support for getting patents” as important benefits for entrepreneurs from smaller cities. They further emphasized that it was important to have the financials right and understand the logic of doing business. Role of government in providing an enabling environment was important but crucial decisions rested with entrepreneurs they added. The panellists underscored the importance of incubation centres in management institutions for the alumni as that would reduce their risk profile in the initial years of a startup. Relevance of action based pedagogy as part of management curriculum was very important to encourage students to turn entrepreneurs according to the panellists.

Guest Lecture By Mr. Sukumar Rangachari

Mr. Sukumar Rangachari addressed the first year students on 11 January 2017 on the topic “What do you need to become an entrepreneur?” In the course of his address he gave several examples of Indian entrepreneurs and their brief history. Mr Sukumar also highlighted the traits that an entrepreneur should and should not possess and the core attributes that an entrepreneur needs to succeed. Apart from this Mr Sukumar also shared his experiences as an entrepreneur.

Talk on B-Plan Preparation By Ms Akshara Kumar

‘E-cell Swayam’ had organized an entrepreneurship talk on the “Preparation of a Business Plan and Related Strategies for a Start-up: by Ms. Akshara Kumar, founder-Truly Essential (Chaitanya Agro Herbals), Mysore; and Chapter Co Chair, Young Indians (Mysuru Chapter) on October 13, 2016 in the Institute Auditorium.

Ms. Akshara in her talk introduced the basics of business plan, emphasizing on how to relate the business with forming any business plan. She touched upon product strategies, value proposition, and customer relationships. Further, Ms. Akshara explained about how customer relationship is important for any business in the world, and elaborated on strategies for customer acquisition, customer retention & boosting sales, to increase customer base.

The speaker concluded the session by saying, “at the starting or launching of any idea ‘YOU’ are the most important thing, so one must believe in oneself”.

Friendship Day Celebration

On 8th august E-cell team celebrated Friendship day with the students of SDMIMD

CEREBRA Event

It is an event for the first year students where they can express their business ideas related to any new product or services. This event encourages to express the creative ideas of the students.

Good number of students participated with their business idea and Best idea was selected by Faculty and awarded by Mr. Salil Ravindran. CFO, Marlabs to Ketan Kunjekar.

PRERNA Event

This event was conducted for second year students where the students take up any startup and do a detailed study on it. Post-study, they must write a case on their findings and present it. The main objective of this event is to make the students understand about the hardships, risks and probable failures faced by any entrepreneur. Best analysis was judged and selected by Faculty head of E-cell Dr. MR Suresh and the winners were Team Silverline - Dominic S Joseph, Narendran V, Faizin Navas and Vijesh M V (2nd year student).